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Actuary Career
#26

Actuary Career

I work in this field. Here's a datasheet on getting started in an actuarial career:

Where should I begin if I want to become an actuary?
Pass exams. Information on preliminary exams is here.

What's an ideal number of exams to pass before searching for my first job?
2-3. Yes, there is such a thing as having too many. Actuaries do not look kindly upon people who sit on the sidelines for years on end to pass a bunch of exams.

Which exams should I pass first?
Go in order and start with P and FM. Some candidates think it benefits them to get cute and pass the "harder" ones first... it doesn't.

What type of person can handle these exams? Am I smart enough/do I know enough/do I have the right degree?
To have a realistic shot at passing exams, you just need to have a very high aptitude in mathematics/problem solving. Most actuaries' SAT math scores are in the mid-upper 700's. You DO NOT need to be some kind of math savant, and you DO NOT need a math (or actuarial science) degree. As long as you took calculus and probability in college, then you're good to give it a shot.

What does it take to pass an exam? How much studying is required?
The official recommendation (for the early exams) is 300 hours of studying per exam. In my opinion, this is ridiculously high and assumes you start out totally clueless and have to learn everything from scratch. If you're a strong math student and a reasonably quick learner, you should do fine with 150 hours or even less.

DO NOT go in thinking you'll do fine just because you're good at math. This is a recipe for spectacular failure. You need to study no matter who you are. You'll want to have practiced every type of problem multiple times, to the point where as soon as you glance at the problem you think "been there, done that" and know exactly how to attack it.

What happens if I fail an exam?
Everyone's been there, no one will hold it against you, just try again.

How does one prepare for an exam?
There are two major exam prep sources that people tend to have success with; Actuarial Study Materials (ASM) has study manuals tailored to the exams, and The Infinite Actuary (TIA) has online video seminars. Either one is more than sufficient to help you pass.

How should I go about applying for jobs?
Like day game vs. night game vs. online game vs. social circle game, the debate rages on and there's no universally agreed upon optimal method. The common avenues are apply to jobs online, cold email established actuaries, and use a recruiter.

How many exams are there before you're fully credentialed?
This question doesn't have a precise answer because (1) it keeps changing, (2) there are secondary requirements that you may or may not count as "exams", and (3) it depends which sub-field you branch out to later on. But ballpark, around 10.

Do the exams get harder as you go on?
Unequivocally yes. P and FM seem pretty difficult at first, but if you make it deep into the exam process, you'll look back on them and think what a joke they were. It's not because the math gets harder; in fact, math is de-emphasized and becomes much less sophisticated on the later exams. Their difficulty lies in the sheer amount of material you're required to keep in your head. Whereas you can crush a preliminary exam if you put in the time, almost everyone who passes upper level exams barely squeaks by. So be prepared to work your ass off like you never thought possible in order to obtain your credentials.

The good news is most actuarial jobs allot time for you to study while at work.

How much do actuaries make?
https://www.dwsimpson.com/salary

What kinds of cool math problems do actuaries solve at work?
Usually, none. The day to day work is far less mathy than you're imagining. Actuaries are required to learn about the math that underlies insurance (1) to prove their overall intelligence, and (2) because someone who doesn't understand the theory behind what they're doing will inevitably mess things up here and there. The math on the preliminary exams does not in any way reflect a typical day's work.

Are you glad you went into this field?
Yes.

More information
Actuarial forums: http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/

If you have any general questions then I'm happy to answer them here, or if you want specifics about what I do feel free to PM me.
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